Electric weft stop motion for narrow ware loom



May 22, 1956 K J, HALL 2,746,490

ELECTRIC WEFT STOP MOTION FOR NARROW WARE LOOM Filed'June 25, 1953 WW WM ATTORNEY United States Patent ELECTRIC WEFT STOP MOTION FOR NARROW WARE LOOM Kenneth J. Hall, Worcester, Mass., assignor to Crompton & Knowles Loom Works, Worcester, Mass., at corporation of Massachusetts Application June 25, 1953, Serial No. "364,021

21 Claims. (Cl. 139-371 This invention relates to improvements in stopping mechanism for narrow ware looms and it is the general object of the invention to provide simple means for stopping the loom if the weft of any shuttle becomes broken or unduly slack.

Narrow ware looms operate with a large number of small shuttles which are reciprocated on a lay to introduce weft into a number of separate warp sheds. Each shuttle carries a weft supply and breakage or slackness of weft in any shuttle is difiicult to determine.

means have been proposed heretofore to detect the condi- Various tion of weft in each shuttle but so far as is known none -of these means has been satisfactory, either because of delicate mechanism in the shuttle or cumbersome means for utilizing an indication of weft defect which is given by the shuttle.

It is an important object of the present invention to provide simple means by which a weft controlled detector weft to pass through the detector so that the weft if merely slack will not be injured by being caught between .the detector and the contacts.

It is a still further object of the invention to effect closure of the previously mentioned contacts by causing 'the endwise motion of the shuttle to move the detector into engagement with thecontacts. Byreason of .this

feature of the invention the detector canbe deflected laterally by the contacts and thus adapt itself tomotion of the shuttle which may occur after the contact has been closed.

The shuttles of a narrow ware loom are received by slots in shuttle blocks which are secured to the lay and it is a further object of the invention to mount insulated contacts on supports carried by the shuttleblocks. The

latter are between the websbeing woven and by mounting the contacts on the blocks they are not in position to interfere with the ordinary operations of the weaver with respect to the warp sheds or the woven fabrics.

Many narrowware looms employ so-called circular shuttles which are of arcuate form and the previously described slots in the shuttle box are curved to receive the shuttles. In such looms each shuttle block has two intersecting curved slots, one to receive one shuttle from the right hand side and the .other to receive another shuttle from the left hand side. It is a further object of the invention to provide the contacts in pairs and have them soarranged that a shuttle moving along the first part of a curved slot will have its detectorpass below one of; ;the pairs of contacts, but as .the shuttle continues in .5.

the curvedslot and moves upwardly its detector will be ICC directed toward the other pair. of contacts in the event of Weft defect.

In the operation of a narrow ware loom it is necessary from time to time to replenish the weft supplies of the shuttles and in order that this operation may proceed without interference by theicontacts it is a further object of the invention to mount the support for the contacts at one side of the shuttle block where it will be out of the path of movement of the depleted bobbin or quill out of the shuttle and movement of the full quill into the shuttle.

A further object of the invention is to provide a shuttle block having electric contacts mounted thereon.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood reference is made to the accompanying drawings. which illustrate by way of example two embodiments of the invention and in which: p

Fig. 1 isa front elevation of part. of a narrow ware loom showing the invention applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view looking in the direction of arrow 2, Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on line 33, Fig. 2, through the contacts and insulating support therefor,

Fig. 4 is a vertical section on line 4-4, Fig. 3, showing the position of the weft detector when the weft of the shuttle is intact,

Fig. 5 is an enlarged vertical section on line 55, Fig. 3, showing the insulated mounting for the contacts, I

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view showing the manner in which the detector on the shuttle closes the contact,

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view of an electric circuit such as can be used. with the invention,

Fig. 8 is a detailed view similar to one of the shuttle blocks shown in Fig. 1 except that the support for the switches is made according to a modified form of the invention, and w p Fig. 9 is an enlarged view looking in the direction of arrow 9, Fig. 8.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 1, the breast beam of the loom is shown at 1 andthe lay is indicated at 2. The lay is supported on lay swords parts of which are shown at 3 for rocking motion back and forth in the loom toward and from the breast beam by means not shown but well understood. Secured to and extending upward- 1y from the lay are shuttle blocks, four of which are shownin Fig. 1 at 4, 5, 6 and 7. These shuttle blocks are braced at their upper ends by a horizontal baror reed'cap 8 which supports the upper ends of beat-up reeds 9 between the shuttle blocks. The lower ends ofthe reeds are secured in ordinary manner to the lay and as contemplated herein the reeds will be fixed with-respect to the lay and the shuttle blocks, although this is not essential.

The shuttle blocks arealike and each one of them has two curved guide slots shown more particularly in shuttle block 7, one of these slots 10 curving upwardly toward the left from the lower right hand part of the block while the other slot 11 curves upwardly toward the right from the lower left hand part of the shuttle block. These slots intersect at a point designated generally at 12 in the shuttle block 7 of Fig. 1 and are entered at their lower ends by the shuttles to be described. The slots of ad- 'jacent shuttle blocks are so arranged that a slot 11 of In Fig. 1 three shuttlesSl', S2 and S3'are shown no shuttlesbeing shown inshuttle block 7 since this block may be considered to be at the left hand end of thelay the ehuttles haying heen rnoved across their respective reeds in aright hand direction by clockwise rotation of "tnirpinions'i "The'snurnes' are of arcane -fdirn'tdfit the slots 10 and 11 and are provided with the usual rack Q 1 the u er i ther (not hown her in). he e task niesliing'with the pinions inu'sualmarine'n Fig. 2 shows the shuttle block 4 and the shuttle S1. The' fshuttle mockin vertical sides 2 and 21 the latter ofwhich' is near" one of the reed's9. The shuttle blocks aiealike, as are also the shuttles, and a description with respect to Fig. 2'will 'sutfice for all of the shuttle blocks and shuttles." i i The shuttle S1 has a base 25 fitted to move in the curved slots 11 and 1.0, respectively, of blocks '4 and and has aforwardly extending bow' 26 which defines a weft compari oi t 27. A quill pin 28 is removably mounted on theshuttlea'nd extends across the weft compartment 27, the pin customarily having one end, such as the left end thereof as shoWn'in'Figi 2, inserted into a small pocket (not shown) in the shuttle and having the other end fitting into a groove 29 opening toward'the compartment 27. Mounted'on the pin 2 8 'is a bobbin or quill wound with a supply of'welt W. A tension pad 31 normally bears against the'weft on the quill to resist rotation of the quill on pin 28. i

The shuttle is provided with a forward eye 35 and right and left hand movable eyes 36and 37, respectively, each of the latter eyes being mounted on small tension springs 38 which are anchored in the shuttle. The shuttle has a delivery eye 40 and has mounted on the front end thereof a detector D which in the present instance is made as a closedcoil wire spring the interior of which registers with theeye 40. The weft from the quill 30 traverses a path shown in Fig. 2, leading from the quill to eye 35, then through the movable spring controlled eyes 36 and 37 and thence through to delivery eye 40 and through the de- 'tector spring D. i The latter can be deflected as shown in Fig. 2 by resistance to movement of the weft out of the compartment 27 caused by the pad 31 and the springs 38.

The matter thus far described except for the detector spring D is of common construction and operates in the ordinary manner, the shuttles being shifted for instance from the position shown in Fig. 1 to the left so that they occupy adjacent shuttle blocks to the left, after having passed forward of their reeds 9 and through their warp shedstnot shown). The shuttles are then given a reverse motion to be returned to the position shown in Fig. l. The detector D is not claimed herein except as it is used in combination with electric contacts to be described. In'carrying the preferred form of the invention into effect each shuttle block is associated with electric contact means, and since the latter are alike only one of them will be described in detail. A support 50, made preferably of sheet metal, has a foot 51 which is secured by screws :52 tothe top 53 of the shuttle block shown in Fig. 2. The support 50 extends forwardly from the top of the block and is then curved downwardly as at 54and terminates in a vertical lower end 55. This end has mounted thereon a carrier 56 made of electric insulating material to support two contact bars C1 and C2. As shown herein these contact bars are of square cross section, although this is not essential, and fit into pairs of grooves 57 and 58, one pair for each bar as shown in Fig. 5, formed in two blocks 59 and 6 0 which can be cemented together to form thepreviously described carrier 56. The upper part of the carrier 56 is held in fixed position on the lower end 55 of the support 50 by two screws 61 which are out of engagement with the adjacent contact bar C1. A second lower screw 62 passes through the contact bar C2 and into the lower end 55 of the metallic support 50 and thus electrically connects the contact bar C2 with the support. The previously described shuttle blocks are customarily made of wood so that the supports 50 and their contacts are insulated from the lay. The insulated contact bar C1 has. an electric conducting screw 65 tapped thereinto as shown in Fig. 3 and has the upper end thereof connected electrically to a wire 66.

"'As shown inFi'gI'3 the" contact ba'rC2 may be straight, but the contact bar C1 has" its ends bent as indicated in Fig. 3 to be at angles with the adjacent ends of the contact bar C2. These contacts thus form angular guide pockets which receive the detector D, as will be described. The foot 51 of ea ch metallic support 50 has an electric contact germ-11 connecte'd'to a wire 72, see Fig. 2. The planes of the angles formed by the bent ends of bar C1 and the adjacent parts of bar C2 is substantially para lel to th djae ri emen it 73 of the shuttle block.

Fig. 7 shows a well-known form of loom knock-off mechanism'which may 'beem'ployed withthe present invention. A loorn controlling lever 75 is pivoted at 76 and has pivoted thereto intermediate its ends a link 77 controlled by a solenoid 78. A lever 79 is rocked periodically in a clockwise direction, Fig. 7, by a regularly rotating cam A switch indicated generally at 81 will be closed when the parts are in the full line position shown in Fig. '7 and one side of this switch is grounded by wire'82.

The solenoid is connected to one side of a source of power, such as an electric transformer T, and the other side of the transformer is connected by line 83 to all of the wires 72, only one of which is shown in Fig. 7. All of the Wires 66 are connected to grounded wire 84 and so long as the contact bars C1 and C2 are not electrically connected the circuit shown in Fig. 7 will remain open with the solenoid 78 deenergized. In the event that the contact bars and C2 of any shuttle block are electrically connected the solenoid 78 will be energized to lift the link 77 to the dotted line position, Fig. 7, whereupon rocking of lever 79 will move the link to the right, thereby shifting the loom controlling lever 75 to the right to effect loom"'stoppage. Closure of the circuit will result in a change in th e loom operation which as set forth herein is loorn'stop'page', but this is not necessarily the only change which can be caused by closure of the circuit.

In operation the shuttles will be caused to travel along theirar'cuate paths as already described and when a shuttle approaches the end of its travel into a shuttle block after having passed through its warp shed the corresponding detector D will be deflected as suggested :inFig. 2 by the weft, provided the latter is intact. In

Fig. 3 is assumed that the shuttle is moving to the right and that'the weft is intact so that the detector will be bent in the direction indicated in Fig. 2 and will not be able to enter the pocket 70, or at least not be able to conn ect the contact bars C1 and C2. If, on the other hand, the weft should be slack or broken, as indicated in Fig. 6, the spring detector D, due to its resilience, will assume its normal forwardly extended position and as the shuttle approaches the end of its stroke or travel the electric conducting detector D will laterally engage and connect the contact bars C1 and C2 to close the previously described circuit.

A feature of the invention related more particularly to so-ealled circular shuttles such as shown is the fact that as a shuttle moves into the shuttle block toward which it is moved the detector D will pass under the adjacent ends of the contact bars C1 and C2 without engaging either of them, but due to continued motion of the shuttle the detector D will move upwardly and can engage the far ends of the contact bars if the weft is slack or broken. Thus, the detector D before reaching the position shown in Fig. 3 passes under the left hand ends of contact bars C1 and C2, but thereafter is directed upwardly into the right hand p0cket 70 due to upward motion of the shuttle.

In'order that'one pair of contact bars may serve two shuttles they are preferably horizontally disposed as shown'in Figs. 1 and 3. When a shuttle is partly in a curved slot'into which it is being moved its detector D will assume a normal forwardly extended position, even if the'weft is intact, and will pass under the near ends of the contact bars C1 and C2, whether the shuttle be moving to the right or left. By the time the shuttle approaches the end of its travel, however, regardless of the direction of its travel, the detector spring D, if still in normalposition due to breakage or slackness of the weft will be caused to enter a pocket 70 and electrically connect the contact bars C1 and C2. A slight amount of motion on the part of the shuttle thereafter is desirable to, cause some slight deflection of the detector D with attendant sliding thereof across the contacts to insure good contact.

Each pocket 70 may be considered as associated with or formed by two contacts formed by adjacent ends of the contact bars C1 and C2 so that each of the contact devices on the insulating'block 56 will have two pairs of contacts. In' Fig. 3 the right hand pair of contacts is indicated at 85.. and 86, while the left hand pair is indicated at 87 and 88.

In the modified form of the invention shown in Figs. 8 and 9 much of the mechanism thus far described. is used except that in place of the support 50 there is provided a support 90 which has an offset foot 91 secured by screws 92 to the top of the shuttle block adjacent one side of the latter. The reason for this construction is apparent from Fig. 8, where it will be seen that with the shuttle as shown the quill can be removed upwardly from its shuttle as indicated by dotted lines along a path at one side of the support 90 and the latter does not interfere with quill removal.

The supports 50 and 90 have been shown herein as mounted on the top of the shuttle blocks, but the invention is not limited to this particular manner of mounting the supports on the shuttle blocks.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the invention sets forth simple means by which a detector on the shuttle if in normal position due to a defect in the weft, such as slackness or breakage, can electrically connect contacts as the shuttle nears the end of its motion into a shuttle block to bring about a change in the operation of the loom. If, on the other hand, the weft is intact the detector will be deflected from its normal position, as suggested in Figs. 2 and 3, and will be held by the weft in such position that it cannot engage the contacts. The detector is made preferably of a close wound metallic coil spring through which the weft passes and is kept from engagement with the contact bars C1 and C2. Unless the weft is thus disposed it might possibly come between the detector and one or the other of the oontact bars and prevent contact closure. It will also be seen that the contacts are supported from the shuttle block and when the invention is used with circular shuttles the blocks will have intersecting curved guide slots which will enable the weft detector D to pass under one pair of contacts but be directed toward the pocket 70 of the other pair of contacts of the shuttle block into which the shuttle is moved, whether the shuttle is moving to the right or to the left. Also, it is preferable that engagement of the detector D with the contacts occur slightly before the end of motion of the shuttle to insure certainty of contact and a slight rubbing incident to lateral displacement of the detector which assists in making good contact between a detector D and the contact bars C1 and C2. The invention further sets forth a shuttle block having the insulated contact bars C1 and C2 mounted thereon.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, what is claimed is:

1. In a narrow ware loom having a shuttle block into which a shuttle moves, a resilient electric conducting detector mounted on the shuttle and projecting forwardly from the latter to occupy a normal position relative to the shuttle when the weft of the shuttle is slack or broken but is deflected from said normal position by the weft if the latter is intact near the end of motion of the shuttle into the block, two electric contacts insulated from each other electrically connected by engagement with the detector only when the latter is in the normal position thereof near the end of motion of the shuttle into the block, electric circuit means normally open including said contacts, the detector forming part of the circuit and closing the latter when electrically connecting the contacts, and means to change the operation of the loom upon closure of the electric circuit.

2. The structure set forth in claim 1 wherein the shuttle also moves out ofthe block and when so moving moves the detector away from said contacts to open the circuit means.

3. The structure set forth in claim 1 wherein the detector is metallic and hollow and the weft from the shuttle passes through the hollow detector and is kept thereby out of engagement with the insulated contacts.

4. The structure. set forth in claim 1 wherein the detector is resilient and is deflected laterally from said normal position thereof by engagement with said contacts due to motion of the shuttle.

.5. The structure set forth in claim 1 wherein the contacts are supported by the shuttle block.

6. The structure set forth in claim 1 wherein the detector when in normal position engages the contacts prior to the end of motion of the shuttle into the shuttle block and the shuttle has .a motion thereafter which causes sliding engagement between said detector and said contacts.

7. The structure set forth in claim-1 wherein the contacts are at an angle to each other the plane of which is substantially parallel to the adjacent side of the shuttle block and the contacts form an angular pocket into which the detector when in normal position is moved by the shuttle to engage the contacts.

8. The structure set forth in claim 1 wherein the shuttle blockis on a reciprocating lay and the electric contacts are supported by and fixed with respect to the lay.

9.' The structure set forth in claim 1 wherein the detector is moved by the shuttle into lateral engagement with the contacts to eifectsaid change in the operation of the loom.

10. The structure set forth in claim 1 wherein the shuttle block is on a lay and electric connection of the contacts is due to motion of the detector by the shuttle in a direction having a component lengthwise of the lay.

11. The structure set forth in claim 1 wherein the shuttle moves along a given path into the shuttle block and electric connection of the contacts is due to motion of the detector by the shuttle as the latter moves along said path.

12. The structure set forth in claim 11 wherein the detector when in normal position is disposed transversely of said path and is moved laterally by the shuttle into engagement with said contacts.

13. The structure set forth in claim 1 wherein said detector extends forwardly from the shuttle and a support is mounted on the shuttle block and has a part thereof extended to a position forward of the shuttle and said contacts are mounted on said part of the support.

14. The structure set forth in claim 13 wherein the support is metallic and one of the contacts is grounded thereto and the other contact is insulated therefrom.

15. In a narrow ware loom having a lay and shuttlethereon which travels along a given path on the lay and carries a weft supply, an electric conducting deflectable. weft detector on the shuttle which occupies a normal position relative to the shuttle when the latter is at the end of said path if the weft is slack or broken but is. caused to occupy a different position deflected from the normal position thereof by the weft if the latter is in-.

tact, insulated electric contacts normally electrically dis-- connected if the detector is deflected to said different;

position, electric circuit means including, said contacts electric conducting weft detector on the shuttle the po-Q sition of which'is' determined by the condition of the weft in the shuttle, said detector being in one position relative'to the shuttle if 'the weft is slack or brokenand beii'ig deflected to another position by the weft if the latter isvint'afct after the shuttlehas moved into said block, said detector being eifectiv e due to the fact that it is electric conducting to cause electric connection of'said electric cbntactsif-in. said-one position but inetfective to connect saidcontacts' if deflected to' said other position thereof.

17. In an electrically controlled narrow ware loom having two electric contacts normally insulated from each other but efiective when electrically connected to change the operation of the loom, a shuttle carrying weft moving along a path toward said contacts when the 100111 is in operation, and a resilient electric conducting weft detector on the shuttle the position of which is determined by the condition of the weft carried by the shuttle, said detector due to resilience thereof being in position to move between and efiect electric connection of said,

contacts when the shuttle is at the end of said path if the weft is slackor broken but being held by the weft out of positionto eifectiel'ectric connection of said contacts if the Weft is intact. v

18. In a narrow ware loom'having two shuttles. and a shuttle block provided with two curved guide slots,

onefor each shuttle; intersecting a. a point substantially midway of the width of the shuttle block, the parts of said slots entered by their respectiveshuttles beingon oppositesides of the shuttle blockand the slots curving nwatslly aid, Parts he eqfr h huttles eanhe t e ec s n. a d hutt l ck.- lt e y a r s i n electric conducting detector on each shuttle, each de-.

tector occupying a normal forwardly projecting position relative to its shuttle. whenthe weft of the latter is slack or broken butbeing deflected fi'Qm said normallposition if the weft is intact at the end of motion of, the shuttle into theslot therefor, two pairs. of insulated contacts, one pair for each shuttle, located on OPPQsite sidesof a stantially perpendicular to a vertical plane passing through said, point.

20.- In a shuttle block for a narrow ware loom operating with a shuttle having a projecting weft detector, 2. body'torming part of the block having a slot therein to guide the shu ttle, va pair of electric contacts insulated from each other and a support for said contacts having a foot secured to the shuttle block, and having an arm holdin'g said contacts forward of theblock in position tobe engagedby said weft detector as the shuttle moves along said" slot.

21. A shuttle block as set forth in claim 20 wherein said slot is curved and one end thereof is higher than the other end' thereof and the foot of the support is secured to the upper part of the block adjacent to said one end of the slot.

References. Cited in-the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

